Forgotten Identities
by Doc Dracula
Summary: This is a story I wrote about 3 years ago, when my English was kind of crumbly. I will eventually update & put it up again. But it's still good for your eyes...X5.494 had suffered a lot from his past, and we learn why.
1. Hiding

**An Abandoned military base, near Seattle**

**Midnight**

A shadowy form hides in the darkness of this cold Friday night. It moves too fast for our minds to register their identity. We see them leap over the barbed wire of a 5-metre fence, and with the favour the rays of moonlight trickling through the grey clouds, we see that it is a girl; a very beautiful girl with long, black hair and pale skin. She is dressed completely in black: tight pants, tank top, an ankle-length leather trench coat and to complete the outfit, a pair of boots she had probably stolen from a biker shop. There are several warehouses, she goes to the first one and heads to the rear door; opens her backpack and rummages inside until she finds a small plastic explosive charge. She sticks it to the door, and places a detonator on it. She puts on a 5-second fuse, and runs to avoid the blast. The door explodes, flying into fragments of steel. She rushes into the smoke and fire and emerges unharmed.

She examines the room. The people who were there had certainly left in a hurry: military equipment is lying all over the place, weapons are still aligned, and on the table, there are some uniforms covered with dust. She grins as she thinks, _"Wow, all those weapons reunited at the same place, this is so cool!"_ She barely can contain herself as she inspects the place more thoroughly, looking at the FAMAS 5.56mm, Colt M4, P90, H & K 9mm, Benelli, Glock, Desert Eagle and all the types of handguns, shotguns, rifles and submachine guns you could imagine. She takes her time and checks the handguns first; there are guns there for all tastes…Beretta 9mm, Five-Seven… and even a few .45 Magnums. There are even silencers and holsters. A real jackpot. She chooses a few from all the types of weapons and steals boxes of ammunitions. She puts them into their steel boxes. Then, she opens the back door, and backs an old van in front of the heap of boxes. It takes her about 45 minutes, even with superhuman strength, to carry them into the van. She then drives it into another abandoned warehouse near the exit of Seattle, the moon shining at her back.

**Unknown Apartment **

**High Rise District**

**Seattle**

**Saturday, 9:11 a.m.**

She woke up suddenly and sat up in her bed, covered with sweat. Still, the images of her nightmare floated in front of her eyes. She remembers…

_**Flashback**_

"_Noooo!"_

"_Shut up!"_

_We see her strapped to a chair as somebody trains a laser into her eye; she struggles but doesn't get anywhere. She is forced to see images…To make her forget…FORGET WHAT?_

_**End flashback**_

She tried to remember what she was brainwashed for but, that's all she can ever get; a tiny fragment of a memory that rang no proverbial bells in her mind. She checked her alarm clock and saw that she was late for work. She dressed quickly; tight, black jeans, white T-shirt and a dark blue vest. She also put on her running shoes and her gloves. She brushed her teeth, grabbed her wallet, her cell phone and her sector pass. Finally ready, it was off to Jam Pony. It had been two months since she had moved to Seattle, met Alec at the "Dust", a bar in Sector 6. She'd met his friends: Max, OC, Sketchy and Logan. They had been so good to her, so accepting. She had asked Alec to help her find a job and here she was, working at the bike messenger service.

She was deep in her thoughts, thinking of the past few weeks when she finally arrived to work. Her blue eyes scrutinized the desk behind which Normal, the boss, usually was.

_Rap music is playing, a song from Ms. Dynamite, It Takes More._

"Hey, missy-miss, what's happened to you? You aren't late… usually." She knew he kinda liked her because of her efficiency and reliability under pressure, like when a customer calls 5 minutes before closing.

"Hey, Mister Reagan. Sorry I'm late… I didn't sleep a lot last night and-"

"It's okay," he interrupted. "That's the first time so I'll forget about this. Just see it doesn't happen again. Here," he said, handing her a package. "Sector 3."

"Just lemme get my things and I'll be ready in a sec." As she headed over to her locker she saw Max, OC and Alec talking in the locker area. She was in the middle of taking off her backpack when Alec, wearing dark green cargo pants with a black, long sleeved shirt and his eternal leather jacket, stood up and walked over to her.

"Hey Avey!"

"Hey, Alec"

He called her Avey, short for Avrianna, a name she chose from an old TV show she watched from when she was living in San Francisco. He leant in closer to her, making sure to keep his voice low to avoid any curious ears. "So, did your little jaunt work?"

"Yup. Biggs should have taken it by now"

"Great!" He said, glad that it had gone okay. "Hmm," he sighed, "I guess I should go now hey? I got a package to deliver to sector 3."

"Nice coincidence: I got one too," Avey smiled.

"Cool. You wanna come with me?"

"Sure."

"Jam Pony messengers. We got some deliveries to do."

The cop glances casually at their sector passes before they're pulled out of his sight. Satisfied, he signalled to his colleague to lift the barrier. "Here ya go, have a nice day"

Avey smiled and nodded politely. They rode to the address written on Avey's package. They stayed silent until they gave the package to his owner.

"Jam Pony Messenger, we got a package for you"

She gives him the package and holds out the clipboard with a pen. She points to the line with an "X".

"Mister, you have to put your signature right here."

He took the pen and did what he had to. She flipped the clipboard shut and took the pen back with a small smile on her face. The man took a dollar from his pocket and handed it to Avey. Her smile got a little bigger in return as she pocketed the note. Alec raised an eyebrow but said nothing... well, at least until they got out of the _ordinary_'s earshot.

"Geez, what men will do for a beautiful girl." The female transgenic said nothing, only smiled mysteriously, a smug glint in her eyes.

"Well, maybe if you were to have lunch with me, especially if I was the one who's paying, would help you to…" She trailed off, astonished by his look. He had stopped dead in his tracks, staring at her. She stopped her bike in bewilderment. "What? What did I say?"

He just continued staring at her, seeming to be somewhere else. Suddenly, he shook his head and muttered, more to himself than to her, "No, it can't be…"

"What can't be?" She said, still utterly puzzled, almost scared by his uncharacteristic behaviour.

"Nothing, it's just that you look like…. someone I used to know…" His face hardened slightly as he said, "But the fact is, that person is dead…" He added, after a pause, his eyebrows knitting together in consideration. "I think…"

It was Avey's turn to frown her eyebrows. "Okay… so… what's your final answer?"

"About what?" he said, a flicker of apprehension passing over his face as he said this.

"Hello! Having a lunch with me!"

He smiled at her; relieved she'd already forgotten about his moment of uncertainty. "Sure, milady." He glanced at his watch. "But there's an hour left until lunchtime."

"We still have enough time to deliver another package, if we hurry."

"Sure thing!" He moved forward; his next deliver was to a house nearby. Avey had to go to Sector 9.

"See ya at Jam Pony at lunchtime?"

"Sure! Bye!" She nodded and took off on her bike.

On her way to the next package's address, she noticed Max, who was doing a delivery. Avrianna stops her bike in front of the house to wait for Max. Her job done, the young woman noticed Avey and greeted her.

"Hey! Where's your buddy?" Max said jokingly.

"My _buddy_'s gone. He had a package to deliver before lunchtime. My next is for Sector 9. You got another one?"

"Nope. But I can go with ya if you want."

"Sure. Always good having some company." Riding at full speed, Avey quickly delivered the package and the two young women returned to Jam Pony.

"So, Avey," asked Max, "what do ya got for lunch?"

"Nothing. Got a few bucks to spend with a nice guy."

"You kinda like him, huh?"

"Alec? Yeah, he's a good guy and all. But I keep asking myself," she said, smiling slightly, trying to keep the mood light, "why you're so _bitchy_ to him…"

"You don't know _anything _of what happened before," Max replied frustratedly.

"Whoa, calm down! Just askin'! I wanna know you… even if I don't remember myself a couple of months at Manticore… And all those nightmares…" (((MEL'S NOTE: The part "even if I don't remember myself a couple of months at Manticore…" confused me, it's not very clear and not very well worded. I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Are you trying to say that she doesn't remember Manticore, only a few months and all the nightmares, or that she doesn't remember what happened to her and what she did the first few months after Manticore was burned down…)))

"What do you mean" Max asked, suddenly worried about her friend.

"When I close my eyes, I get all these, uh, what do you call them?"

"Flashbacks?" Max suggested, knowing all too well what she was talking about.

"Yeah. I get all these flashbacks, from back at Manticore and the last thing I remember is that I was strapped down as somebody trained a laser in my eye, forcing me to watch…"

"Watch what?" Max ask, captivated

"I dunno… something. And I keep seeing this barcode…"

She frowned, her eyebrows creasing in concern, almost confusion. "What designation?" Her question shot out of her mouth before she could have stopped it.

"Can't tell. It was just a partial one… 331 something"

"Well, that can't help, practically all the X5s barcode begin by 331."

"Yeah. Mine is 330..."

"332... the third number mean the year of our birth: 2 is for 2000, 1 for 1999 and 0 for 1998. I only know two transgenics whose barcode got a 0 at the third position. You and my brother… Zack."

"Zack? Who is he?"

"Well, his designation's 599"

Avey blinks. "What?"

"599," Max repeats, becoming more wary of Avey's revelations.

"Mine is 598. I wonder if that…"

"Means something? Probably… Like why my fucking DNA has no junk bases..."

"Maybe you're the One, made to save the world," she says, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "Like in this weird pre-Pulse movie, the Matrix." The two young women laugh together, happiness lighting up their faces for those few precious seconds.

"You were saying that you didn't know anything about what happened before. Before... at Manticore or once you guys went outside?" (((MEL'S NOTE: Is it Max or Avey who says this line and the next line because I'm not sure.)))

"This isn't a funny story to tell…"

Max shrugged. "I don't care."

"I spent ten years of my life trying to escape from Lydecker, the man who was in charge of the project. He was trying to find the ones I escaped with. Well, I found most of them," Max said with an almost smug tone. (((MEL'S NOTE: Somehow, I'm not sure Max would begin a conversation about Ben. It's a painful subject for her and Max is very much the 'strong and silent type' who would pass on talking about the brother she murdered…but you could fix that by having Avey ask Max about him, say Alec mentioned him once and said to talk to Max about it…something along those lines.))) And there was Ben, he's identical as Alec, physically, anyway…"

"His clone?"

"His twin…" Max paused, staring into the distance, an almost wistful look on her face. "At Manticore, he wanted answers for everything, like why we were there and why they made us. He made all these beautiful stories…" She smiled as she remembered. "…But when we escaped, it was like he didn't understand anything in this crappy world and there were too many questions he didn't have answers for. So I guess he just… cracked… When I finally found him, he was murdering people." Max takes a deep breath. It was obvious that she was stealing herself to talk about this, knowing that the future benefit would outweigh the present pain. She began again. "We were in the woods and he was hurt. He couldn't run… Manticore was closing in. He didn't want to go back there so I…" Her voice broke just as the dam she had built so carefully started to crack; tears of unshed grief slid down her face.

Avrianna goes on for her. "You were forced to kill him."

Max nods, suddenly looking tired. Avey tried to comfort her. "Look, come with me. I'll ask Normal if you can take the rest of the day off."

Max looked at her, overwhelmed by her friend's kindness. An almost timid smile shone out from underneath her tearful expression. "Why are you doing this? It's been only a month since I've met you. You don't owe me anything."

"Why do you think?" She asks gently, her voice full of genuine concern. "Because I care about you. And stop saying stupid things."

"Good point," Max joked weakly.

Avey looked into her friend's eyes and saw all the pain and sadness her friend has had to bear. How is it possible that someone so young is already so weighed down with guilt and bitterness, she wondered.

"Hey, OC. How it's going?"

"Fine I guess. I saw you with my boo," she said, cutting to the chase. "What did you do to her?" Although the question was almost rude, her protective demeanour revealed her good and loving intentions.

"Me, nothing. She's not feelin' okay. I think she needs a good friend right now and she's only known me for a while so maybe you should go over then instead. I dunno her as well as you do."

"Aiight. Anything for my boo", OC said, already walking towards Max.

Avey approached Normal's desk. "Hey boss, I need to ask a favour…"

"Sure, anything for one of the best messengers."

"Well, ya see, a friend of mine is sick and needs to take the afternoon off, so I was wondering if…"

Normal already knew which friend Avey was talking about: the shiftless, perpetually late one. He looked into her eyes and he heard himself say, "Well, okay," he said relenting. "But she's gotta do a double shift tomorrow!" He said, realising he was turning soft.

"Normal, she ain't feeling okay. Please..."

"Okay, no double shift," he sighed in defeat. "But just remember that I'm only doing this as a favour to _you _not her._" _Avrianna gave him a smile.

"Thanks!" She exclaimed, her face lighting up with triumph. Avey walked over to see the two girls.

"Good news: you're free." Avey told Max happily.

"Thanks, I owe you one."

Avrianna waved her hand, dismissing her comment. "It's okay…"

Since she couldn't find Alec anywhere, she took her cell phone out and called him, knowing that he always carried it with him. She started to worry as she realized that there wasn't any answer. She went to Normal's desk.

"Normal, do you know where Alec is?"

"I thought he was with you!" He screeched with worry that his Golden Boy was alone in the world, his current location unknown.

"Damn… thanks, anyway," Avey answered, not looking at Normal who is now shifting his weight nervously between each foot, trying to decide on a course of action.

Outside Jam Pony, Avrianna began checking the surroundings of Jam Pony to see if Alec was there. Suddenly, with her sensitive hearing, she heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Struggling to get there as fast as she could without alerting anyone to her superhuman speed, she followed the source of the sound. She saw Alec getting beaten up by six or seven guys. She saw red and drew her knife from its sheath. She leapt behind the flunkey who had begun to strangle Alec with a chain; she swiftly stabbed him in his side, removing her blade, full of blood. Then, she punched him on the temple, making him fall aside. Alec was free now and fighting at Avey's side. He took the chain that was lying on the ground and used it as a projectile, throwing it at one of the men's head, and his target fell to the ground, joining his friends. There were three left. Avey, her knife still in hand, made a back flip, hitting a man below his chin, knocking him unconscious. Alec kicked his opponent in the groin, making him bend in pain, giving him the opportunity to introduce his knee to the man's nose. Avey was circling her enemy, who was holding a baseball bat, looking for an opening. He swung the bat in Avey's face, but his target wasn't there anymore. She grinned at him.

"That all you've got?"

He attempted one more time to hit her but she blocked the bat with her open palm while kicking the man in his gut at full strength, making him fly a few meters away. His head violently hit the brick wall as he crashed. She felt a sudden pain and looked for its origin. She saw blood spurt out of her left shoulder. She furrowed her brow, wondering what must've happen…

She tried to walk, her face suddenly draining of colour. She managed to take a few steps only to collapse into the swirling tornado of white pain, red blood and black emptiness. Unconscious…


	2. Blowing

_Action goes backward and into slow motion._

_We see behind Avey's shoulder, while she does the described action_.

The guy attempted one more time to hit her but she blocked the bat with her open palm as she kick him men in his gut at full strength, making him fly a few meters away. The last men, who was hiding behind a container, pounced her, she hear his breathe as she attempted to turn and hit him, but she was too late… He stabbed her in her left shoulder and ran away, only to be stopped by a well-placed kick in the stomach by Alec.

"Avey?… AVEY!"

He saw her lying on the ground, unconscious and losing a lot of blood, her knife beside her, covered with blood. He crouched over her and quickly checked her pulse. It was low, but still there. He obviously knew that ordinaries medics will ask lots of questions so he took his cell phone and dialled Max's apartment.

" Hey", she answered.

" It's Avey, she's wounded and I need you to come by now with help. I'm in a back alley near Jam Pony. She losing a lot of blood. Hurry!"

" Logan and I will be there in fifteen minutes. Hang on."

He flip close his cell phone, pocketed it as he sit down near Avey, and ripped a large strip of his shirt, using it as a compress and squeezed the wound, which was still bleeding badly. While doing that, he carefully turned Avrianna and leaned her comfortably in his lap, but wasn't careful enough because she moan in pain and opened her eyes, she was pale because of the loss of blood.

"Hey", Alec smiled

She smiled back.

_A slow music starts to play: Hold on to me love/You know I can't stay long/All i wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid/Can you hear me/Can you feel me in your arms?_

" Huh.. Are you an angel? … Maybe I'm dead… And I'm in Heaven… "

He laughed softly.

"Not really. I just care about people I love."

_Holding my last breath/Safe inside myself/Are all my thoughts of you/Sweet raptured light/ It ends here tonight.._

He perfectly knew that she could die within ten minutes, so he silently hope for her to stay with him, so he kept talking.

"Er, when I say love, I don't mean love-love but … ah.. whatever.."

" Hey, she said softly, if you love this girl, don't be afraid of your feelings!"

"What? Max? You're kidding, right? There no way in Earth! She got her Logan and, for her, I'm just her…huh… pet?"

Avey laughed but was stopped by a wave of pain. He continue to squeeze the wound.

"Alec… I got something… something important to tell you."

He waited anxiously, thinking: "Maybe she'll told me… Nah, she can't… she's too.."

She took a deep breath.

"I… I care about you Alec, a lot…"

He smiled, but that wasn't what he was expecting.

"Yeah, me too", he whispered. "And if it's the time of an 'open-heart' chatting, you betta' not lemme down!"

" Of course not. After all, it's just a fucking wound…And I can beat it…"

He took her hand in his and she rubbed it against her cheek.

"Your hands are soft."

"Yours, too"

She tried to change her position, forgetting her injured shoulder and she winced in pain.

"Careful" Alec told her. He gently lifted her more comfortably and took back her hand, caressing it with his thumb. With their sensitive hearing, they heard the crunching of wheels.

"Here they are"

"I know"

"Hold on"

She squeezed his hand.

"Oh, I pick this up.."

He showed her the knife.

"Thanks…", she whispered. "I think I need to sleep, now. Don' worry."

She leaned back her head on Alec's chest and closed her eyes.

Logan backed up ol' Betsy near them while Max hurried toward Avey.

"What happened?"

"She's been stabbed in the shoulder."

"Just hang on", she told Avey " We brought a stretcher, go grab it while I take care of her…", she whispered to Alec.

He nod, jogged to the Aztek, opened the trunk and came back with an old stretcher. Together, they carefully placed the wounded on it and put it in the back of the car. Max sat in the passenger seat as Logan began to drove, heading for TC. She turned and see Alec sitting besides Avey, holding her hand and silently praying.

"What happened?", Max rehearsed.

He barely notice his half-bare stomach

"Huh, had to rip off my shirt… It's not important.."

"I've notice that.. I wasn't talking about you…", she told him

"I dunno what happened.. I was beating one of those idiots and I didn't notice she was hurt. They came from behind and tazed me for no reason, and they were at least five. I was lucky to be quick enough to avoid the second and third electric shocks… How do you think I can handle this? How do think I could've know she'll run into them and almost got killed?"

His face changed into a mask of sadness.

"Hey, don't feel so angry… It's not your fault…", she comforted him.

"Yeah…"

But he was still feeling guilty, despite the effort his friend has deployed.

"Sorry to interrupt.. but we're there. We'll had to carry her to the infirmary.."

"But, how do you expect us to enter with a wounded? It won't go through!"

"Don't worry, we have some hidden entry points", Logan answered him without turning.

He pounded and Alec exited the car by the rear door. They were in an alleyway near the gates of Terminal City, surrounded by decrepit buildings. He opened the trunk and tilted the stretcher so the wheels are deployed, making the stretcher roll.

"Okay, so, where is your "secret" entrance?"

"See that building?", he pointed one with a sign that says "Marcus & Elliot, associate lawyers"

"Yeah…"

"There is an hidden entrance in it.. The bookcase which look thicker.."

"Aiight.. you guys comin'?"

"No.. we have stuff to do.. But we'll probably be back before the sun goes down."

Alec nodded and rolled the stretcher toward the designated building, which was dusty and has a lot of office supplies spreaded all over the place, as if the previous owner had to left in a hurry. He rapidly scanned all the offices and finally found what he was looking for. He pushed aside the bookcase, using practically all his superhuman strength; obviously, no ordinaries can penetrate TC here.

That reveals another office, but this time, in the enclosure of Terminal City, or Transgenic Central, like people often called it. He knows that he was close to the infirmary, due to the smell.. He exited the office, finding himself in a corridor, where a young transgenic, probably a X6, was standing. The young X6 notice the stretcher and told Alec to follow him. He lead him to a huge room that was filled with makeshift beds and medical supplies. Fortunately, there wasn't a lot of people to treat so a medic took charge of the stretcher and, with the help of Alec, he transferred Avey on an examination table.

"Sir, you'll have to wait .. Someone will told you when you could see her."

"Okay, I won't disturb you anymore", he replied while heading toward the waiting room.

While he close the door, he sees another transgenic joining the medic, with several medical supplies.

Once in the waiting room, he dropped on a smashed couch and buried his head into his hands. He thought about the last few weeks, since he met Avey. It was the most beautiful moment of his life. Even for Rachel, he never felt so… close to someone, and that wasn't just because they were both transgenic, but they have a kind of.. chemistry between them. He never feel better than when he was at her side..

Sunday,

10h30 p.m.

When Avey finally woke up, she was alone. She tried to move her arm but only brought more pain, and she let out a big groan. She looked for the source of the pain and finally remember what brought her here when she saw the big white bandage on her left shoulder. She was still dressed with the same clothes, but her left sleeve has been removed, and the rest of her t-shirt was stained with blood, now turned brown. Suddenly, a male X5 entered with a tray filled with food. He put it on the bedside table.

"Hey!", she smiled

"Good evening, ma'am.", he replied. " Your boyfriend.."

"He's not my _boyfriend_..", she interrupted him abruptly.

"Okay, 494 is waiting for you in the waiting room. Should I told him that you're awake?"

"Sure thing… and thanks for the food.."

"No problems"

He smiled and turned on his heel, heading for the door. She looked on the tray; there was a bowl oatmeal, a glass of milk and a banana. _I wonder where they took all this food.._ She took the fruit, peeled it and begin to eat slowly. While she was eating, the door opened, revealing Alec, who was carrying a black duffel, dressing with black cargo pants and a dark green long-sleeved t-shirt. He smiled at her and she quickly swallowed.

"Hey, how'd ya feel?"

"I'm not dead.."

His smile widened and he motioned for the bed, and sit on it.

"Brought you some clothes, and all you need to make yourself beautiful."

"What? You're sayin' that I'm not right now?", she replied playfully

He laughed.

"No, of course not.."

"Hey, how did you know where my crib is?", she asked him.

"Not so hard, just have to take a look at Normal's files!"

"Yeah.."

Suddenly, she looked somewhere else. He put the bag on the stretcher, which was still there and sat beside her on the bed. She took the bowl of oatmeal and began to eat, avoiding talking. He began to ran his fingers into her hair and she quickly put the bowl aside, rushing out of the bed. He look stupefy.

"Sorry, she muttered, I really need to take a long shower to clean all this dirt.."

"Okay.. I'll be in the CC…"

She took the duffel and practically ran out of the room

"_Dammit_, she thought, _how could he do that when I'm so.. dirty? Avey, don't fool yourself up, y'know that's not why you literally flew out of that room.. Yeah.. you're afraid of your feelings.. and you're the one who told me not to… God, take that fucking shower, get dressed and go talk to the man.."_

Since she doesn't know the layout of TC, she headed to the CC, the only place where she can go without getting lost.. Knowing that Max will probably be there and could help her find a place with running water. The CC was filled with people but she rapidly found Max, who was directing a FO, a Food Operation, where a team of transgenic stole some food. The young woman notice Avey and hand-signalled her to wait.

"Okay, you got maximum ten minutes to fill up. Hurry.. and don't get caught!"

She took out her earpiece and throwed it on the console.

"Hey, careful with the equipment!", the radio told her.

"Sorry.. slip out of my hand.. I got to go for a while.."

"Aiight"

She turned to Avey.

"Hey! How do ya feel? You look… haggard.."

"I'm okay, physically anyway.. Can we go.. somewhere else?

"Sure. Just follow me.."

Max leaded her to an empty office where some chairs and a desk lied there. Avey drops on a chair while Max brushed off the dust accumulated on the desk and sat on it.

"So.. what do you want?"

"Take a shower.. get dressed.. eat some real food.. seriously, I got a problem.."

"Ya mean, a guy problem?

"Yeah, Avey smiled, you seemed pretty experienced with that kind of, huh, situation.. Am I right?"

Max smiled back.

"Not really, but I know him a little anyway. He's a good guy, even if he's really pain-in-the-ass, sometimes. But I know he cares about you, yesterday, when you were taken care of, he kept asking all the time if you're gonna be okay. He really thought you were going to die.."

"Not yet, unfortunately. Damn.. why is it so hard to told someone your feelings?"

"I don't know.. Maybe it's because people are afraid of it.. They think and act with their brain and aren't listening to their screaming heart.."

"Maybe you're right.. What about Logan?"

"He's.. fine… yeah.." After a pause "He's literally kinda _zombie _you know.."

"That's for his good, and you know that.", Avey comforted her, knowing all their story after Max told her some night at Crash.

Since they met, the two young women found that they have a lot in common. They go out of the office and through the corridors while talking.

"Yeah.."

"We'll found a cure for that damn virus.. And hey, you gonna change your mind, or you're gonna explode!"

"Yah.. But, lemme show you the water place."

"I'll follow you.. What happened to OC?"

"Oh.. she got herself a new girl.. and with the toxic level here, she know she can't stay.. And I'm very busy with this whole thing.. so, I don't have time to think about her.."

"At least you got the phone.. Even if I'm sure that your cell phone and your apartment is bugged with mikes.."

"Probably.. But I only call her once in a week.. Just to assure myself that she's aiight.. Here we are."

They had arrived to the bathroom which was filled with rust and was like a thousand years old.. Even if a thousand years ago, running water doesn't exist..

"There some towels in the wardrobe and some soap, too."

"Got it.. Thanks!" She added ".. for everything."

"No problems! Anything for a friend! I'll be at the CC. Oh, and I got your cell phone and wallet."

She fished them in her pocket and give them to Avey.

"Thanks", she put them into a side pocket of her duffel. Max exited the room and closed it behind her. Avey locked it and goes by the shower and turned the taps on. At first, there weren't any reaction and then, the water came out with a growl. The water was brown, so Avey let it run for a moment and it goes on clear.. She undress herself and look at her reflection, facing a broken mirror. Her body was covered with cuts and bruises, but it already began to fade out.. She had a tattoo on her right arm, covering shoulder to elbow. It was a white, red and black snake encircling a dagger. She remember when she got it..

_Flashback_

_A dark haired, handsome men, about the age of Avey, is looking at her with a strange glance. He is shirtless and wore the same tattoo.._

_"This is great.. You'll love that, honey.. You know what you have to do to be one of us, didn't you?"_

_"Sure.. I wanna be a part of this.."_

_"Good.."_

_He took a syringe and drove it into Avey's arm, who was sitting on a chair, looking drugged. We saw nothing more as we heard a scream, obviously from a girl._

End Flashback 

A spooked Avey took a soap bar, a towel and slowly enter the shower, which was covered with haze. She let the steaming water running all over her body. The hot water seeming to energize her, she quickly washed her hair, rinsed them and washed her body the same way, trying not to move her injured shoulder. Then, she took the towel she had previously put near the shower and dried herself up. She put the towel around her chest and took another one to dry her hair. She changed her bandage to a fresh one, thanks to the little first aid kit she always carried in her duffel... She rummaged inside her duffel and smile at the view of the clothes Alec brought her; he'd certainly put all her black clothes in there. She choose a pair of black thigh pants, he'd also put her motorbike boots, she put them on. She also wore a red tank top with "I rules, you're a dumbass" printed on it with black, huge letters and, to complete her outfit, she put an old leather jacket she "borrowed" from a drunken biker. She picked her toothbrush and she goes by the washbasin to brush her teeth. Then, she combs her hair until they were perfectly untangled and glossy. She picked a cinnamon gum and slowly chew it. She packs her things, put her duffel across her unharmed shoulder and headed back to the CC.

Command Centre,

Terminal City,

A few minutes ago

Alec was sitting on the corner of a desk, reflecting about the last few weeks and, especially about Avey and how she have reacted when he touched her. This mean two things: or she only want to be friend with him, nothing more or either she's afraid of her feelings. _"With my luck_, he thought, _she just want us to be good friend." _ He raised his head to see Max joins him, interrupting his stream of thoughts.

"Hey", she greeted him

"Hey you"

"Hum.. are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, sure! I'm always okay!", he grinned but his face said longer.

With that, he exited the CC, his feet leading him who knows where, keeping his head down. He rushed into Avey's wounded shoulder. She let out a grunt, wincing in pain.

"Damn! Sorry!"

"It's okay.."

He wrapped his arm across her good shoulder, leading her to an empty living quarter. There was several cots and a pile of army surplus blankets.

"Here, sit"

She obey, because the pain was too strong.. He sat at her right side and do nothing but stare at his hands, unsure of what to do and don't want to screw everything up..

"_Damn_, Avey thought, clenching her jaw_ it's sure he's not gonna do anything after.. what happened before.._"

She slide closer and put her head on his shoulder, that caught him by surprise but he dare not to move. He ran his hand into her damp hair and she sighed of pleasure.

"Mmm, your hair smells good", he whispered

"Thanks.. damn.. my shoulder hurt like hell.. do you know where I can find some painkillers?"

He didn't answer, still concentrating on the mix of odors she produce. She raised her head, looking at him.

_A sound starts to play: When we're together I fell perfect /When I'm pulled away from you I fall apart/All that you say is sacred to me/Your eyes are so blue, I can't look away as we lay in the stillness_

"Do you know where they are?"

"Yeah, he muttered, right here"

He leaned his head and their lips met. It was just a shy kiss and they separate quickly, Alec looking at her deep, blue eyes, expecting what's coming next. She returns the kiss, more intensely this time, her lips warm and soft. They probably hold the Guinness record of the longest kiss, thanks to their genetically engineered lungs. They broke off.

_So many nights I've cried myself to sleep/Now that you love me I love myself/I never thought I would say that/I never thought there'd be you_

"What are you thinking?", Avey suddenly asked.

"About you.. about the way you drive me crazy.. and, honestly, you did drive me crazy the first time I've ever see you"

"That's… that's kinda… cool.. huh.. yeah.. Frankly, I was thinking about your genetically engineered body.. and, huh.. how you look like without that sweater on you…"

He seemed shocked a little, but smiled, as she grinned ferociously and removed it, biting her lower lip as she admire his perfectly sculpted pecs.

"Well, well, well..", she said, looking at him hungrily "It's cool to be built in a lab, isn't it?"

"Yeah…", he muttered "Your turn now"

"Be careful..", she told him as she showed him her wounded shoulder

He nodded and she took off her jacket, raising both her arms in the air, allowing him to remove her tank top, leaving her only in her black bra and her pants.

"Shit.. if I knew I will wear my clothes for a big ten minutes, I came naked…"

He laughed , keeping doing his work. That done, he looked at her magnificent upper body. He decided not to go too fast, after all, it was their first time together..

"Huh, I better lock the door, just in case.."

"Yeah, hurry"

He quickly goes by the door, looking if anyone was around, quietly locked it while Avey placed some blankets on the old camp bed. She lied on it, still half naked, soon joined by Alec. He only stayed there, contemplating her and he smiled. She caught his glance.

"What?", she asked, a little bit puzzled by his look.

"Nothing.. it's just.. your too beautiful"

"Hey, it's genetic, so.."

"So what? You could be.."

"Oh, just shut the fuck off", she muttered while interrupting him with an ardent kiss while exploring his body, from the chest to, well, the rest.. he smiled into the kiss.

"I love when you do that", he mumbled

She slowly removed her pants as he does the same, tossing them on the ground. Then, they made love slowly and carefully, because they wanted to make that moment as long as possible, and because her wound begin to sore again..


End file.
